Cabinet decides to defer asbestos ban

The Cabinet has approved to temporarily remove the ban imposed on asbestos usage, reports say.

The issue was taken up at length at yesterday's (19) Cabinet meeting.

On September 2016, the government decided to impose a ban on asbestos product usage in Sri Lanka from 2024 onwards, citing health reasons. While Russia is key buyer of Ceylon tea, it is also the main exporter of asbestos to Sri Lanka.

Speaking at yesterday's cabinet meeting, minister of plantations industries - Navin Dissanayake had spoken on the quality of asbestos sheets being manufactured in Russia.

The cabinet had further decided to send a team of experts to Russia to look into the quality of asbestos sheets being manufactured in that country.

Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to Sri Lanka had met with the plantations minister yesterday and the day before. Yesterday's meeting had taken place after the cabinet meeting and the ambassador had been briefed about the cabinet decision.